Itachi glanced to Koraru curiously as they made there way through the marsh towards the main base. She was faster today and much lighter on her feet. He glimpsed the glimmering pink scales on her back and neck, and even on her step he could see they seemed to cover the bottom of her feet as well. It was unlike him not to observe things, but he couldn't recall seeing them the day prior.

"Koraru-san."

She turned back to him and smiled sweetly, her pink locks swaying with the movement.

"Chan."

Kisame glanced to them, smirking to Itachi before offering an explanation.

"Mizutenshi skip the formality Itachi-kun."

He nodded in understanding before redirecting his attention to the waiting Koraru.

"You're scale coating seems to have increased along with your physical prowess since yesterday."

She nodded to him, holding her hand up and glancing to the scales coating the area on the back, using her other hand to run her fingers over the glistening scales..

"When my chakra reserves were replenished, my body was able to re-armour itself once again. The less chakra I have, the less scales I have."

He glanced ahead of them once more, they were approaching the entrance of their hideout now, the marshlands merging into the nearby baron forest.

"So if you have no chakra you have no armour."

Koraru chuckled lightly at the statement, her hands furrowing around the straps of her back pack as she hauled it further up her back.

"If I run out of chakra Itachi-kun, I'll be dead, just like anyone else."

"We're here."

Kisame's announcement stopped their conversation in its tracks, Koraru silencing herself as she took a few short moments to familiarize herself with just where the entrance to the base was, should she ever find herself having to travel to it alone, it would serve her well to have at least some kind of landmarking to use. The exterior of the building was that of a dilapidated home abandoned and half sunken into the surrounding swamp. It was dark, it was gloomy, it was smothered in various moses and fungi, some of which the woman knew to be lethal if inhaled for too long. It was a perfect hiding spot. Kisame moved the unhinged door from its place, Koraru following after him, and Itachi setting the rotten wood back into place behind them. The interior of the home was just as dreary. No natural light penetrated the cracked windows, so thick with dust that it looked as though it hadn't been touched in decades. The residing furniture was damp and festering, and the air itself seemed to hang thick with the stench of decay. Kisame chuckled as he glanced towards the look of uncertainty set across Koraru's face.

"You look almost worried Koraru-chan. You're used to these conditions."

She lulled her head towards him boredly, sure her cave wasn't exactly swimming with class and eloquence but at least the fungus growing in it wasnt harmful.

"Queasy is more like it, the spores in here are toxic."

Itachi released a short sigh.

"It's a precaution. Anyone who stumbles upon the area tends to leave rather quickly once they begin throwing up."

Kisame chuckled.

"We should probably move on ourselves."

He led the way through the home, their feet echoing as the made their way through the living room and towards the kitchen, Kisame coming to a halt at the pantry. He turned to face the siren, grinning to her as he opened the pantry door behind him. Her hands flew over her face as the smell of decaying meat and festering fruit hit against her nose. No way could this be the entrance... She was not going in there. Kisame closed the door once more, laughing loudly in delight at her response as Itachi shook his head. He held his hands up in front of him, making a hand sign.

"And now..."

He opened the door once more, Koraru bracing herself for the scent of pure death itself to invade her nostrils, but it never came. The pantry contents were gone, and in its place was a stone stairway, lanterns lining the entrance. Kisame entered inside, beckoning the woman to follow behind him down the dimly light staircase. Normally this would be the kind of situation where someone would turn tail and run, but being with Kisame Koraru knew that no harm would befall her, and so with a deep breath which she almost immediately regretted, she followed the man down the musky pathway. The stairs led to a long corridor, the floor beneath her feet was cold but dry, and from an unknown source a light breeze of somewhat fresh air was helping to clear away the denseness of the air. After a few moments they happened across a dead end, seemingly having walked along a path to nowhere. A few more complex hand signs from Kisame gave way for a set of doors to melt through the stone before them, which rumbled the area around them slightly as they parted, revealing more of the corridor. She followed after them, her eyes now drawing towards the many doors lining the area, she hoped they were nearing their final destination.

"We should speak with Leader immediately."

Kisame nodded in agreement with Itachi, stopping at the first door on his left as he raised up his knuckles, wrapping them lightly against the cold steel, the sound resonating through the rather empty area. A gruff voice sounded from inside, Kisame wasting no time in pushing the door open. Itachi nudged Koraru's back, urging her to follow his partner inside. Within the room behind a large stone desk sat a man. His hair was a bright orange, and his eyes were....most unusual. Piercings penetrated most of his face, Koraru able to immediately sense that something was off about him. He stared at the trio stood before him in silence, his stoic expression remaining strong.

"Pein-sama. I have someone here I believe would be of use to the Akatsuki."

The man lifted his hands, folding them in front of his face and placing his elbows onto the table, his eyes closing over carefully.

"I decide when we are seeking new members Kisame-san, not you."

Itachi stepped forward slightly, now standing side by side with Koraru and Kisame.

"Pein-sama, Koraru is well versed in healing, her skills as a medic far exceed those of Kakuzu and Sasori. If we were to utilize her abilities I believe she would be an invaluable asset."

Pein opened his eyes, trailing them across the stranger stood before him.

"Invaluable hmm? How do I know that?"

"She's already stopped the progression of Itachi's illness Pein-sama, and in only a short period of time, something both Kakuzu and Sasori failed to do."

Pein's gaze fell back onto Kisame.

"And in combat?"

He glimpsed to the woman beside him, remembering what Oruka had told him before they left. She wasn't up to much in combat, not without her song, but he knew Pein wouldn't accept her as a member if he believed she could ever become a liability.

"Lower than our standard, but I would train her myself if I have to."

Koraru turned her attention to Kisame, her eyes running over his firm expression as he stared dutifully ahead. She smiled lightly, before gazing back to the man seated behind the desk. He released a heavy sigh, rising up from his seated position.

"Your name?"

He was looking directly at her, his steely eyes locked intensely with her own coral pink.

"Koraru Mizutenshi."

The man nodded.

"Mizutenshi hmm? You two could have just said that from the start. Welcome to the Akatsuki, Koraru-san, Kisame and Itachi will tell you everything you need to know. Take the room across from Itachi's. You won't be given a ring, as a medic, you will reside mostly within these walls, and so will also not be given a partner. Kisame will train you as suggested. You should familiarise yourself with our medical bay. You're all dismissed."

Kisame and Itachi bowed respectfully, Koraru doing the same, before exiting back out into the corridor behind Itachi, Kisame closing the door over behind him. The man released a relieved sigh as his hand left the handle, pulling his gaze to meet his partners.

"Thanks for the help Itachi-kun."

He nodded in recognition of Kisame's words before glimpsing to Koraru briefly.

"I will inform the others of Koraru's presence. You should bring her up to speed on things and then bring her to meet the others."

He didn't wait for an answer before he began off down the corridor, turning a corner at the end of it and disappearing from their view. Kisame stepped infront of her smirking as he gestured down the corridor.

"Well lets go then. There's plenty to show you before you meet the others."

Koraru done her utmost to memorise the route to her bedroom. Past the first corridor it had split off into two, and then split again, and again. Two left and a right and three doors down Kisame stopped, his hand wrapping around the steel door knob in front of him as he opened it slowly, the heavy door creaking on it's hinges. He held his hand forward into the room, Koraru taking the hint and walking inside ahead of him. She flicked the lightswitch on the wall, dimly illuminating the space. It was rather plain inside, a stone floor played host to a few animal skin rugs, the walls much the same, dark gray stone embellished with a few empty candle holders. The room housed a bed against the main wall, a small dark wooden table set beside it with a lamp set atop it, and on the wall near the lightswitch sat a desk with a stool in front of it, and against the other wall rested a tall wardrobe. All together it was really rather underwhelming, not to mention it seemed to be freezing. She shivered lightly, her arms wrapping around her as entered inside, removing her pack and placing it down on the white linens of the bed. Now that she was fully inside she was able to see a fireplace built into the corner of the room which had previously been blocked from view by the open door. Kisame followed her inside, grunting as the chill in the air sent a shiver down his spine.

"It's freezing in here, I'll ask Itachi to come in and light your fire once were finished. In the meantime though, let's go to the medical quarters, it's always warm in there."

"Yeah okay."

Koraru took one last glimpse at the baron room before stepping out into the hallway once more, and pulling the door closed behind her. Her eyes trailed the long corridor carefully, again it was devoid of anything other than doors, leaving her little to go on should she become lost. Her attention was drawn behind her as a loud clunk echoed in her ears. Kisame smirked to her as he freed his hand from the kunai it had been wrapped around, the kunai which he had stuck into the doorframe above her door.

"If you get lost your room is the one with the kunai."

She returned his smirk, nodding her head.

"Thanks."

He started off ahead of her, his hand reaching into his weapons pouch once again after he passed a few doors, Kisame produced a shuriken, and without any real effort drove it into the frame of another door.

"And that's my room. The one across from you is Itachi's."

He didnt stop walking as he explained things to her, pointing out various rooms as they passed them by on their way to the medical area. The doorway to the area was wide and devoid of any actual doors, Koraru releasing a thankful sigh that it was distinguished from the rest of the rooms in such a way. It was white inside, sterile, with three white linen single beds at one side, each separated by a curtain. Against the main wall was a large variety of jars and bottles, supplies and such ranging from painkillers and antibiotics to what appeared as optometry scopes an dental equipment. An x ray machine was backed into the corner, a large glass cabinet containing dressings and casting equipment, and one very large, very well stocked workbench, adorning each and every vial, burner, clamp and tabletop medicinal machine she could ever possibly require. She smiled brightly as she took in the area, elation flooding through her. This was so much better than her workspace back home, the possibilities that this would open up to her where overwhelming, and she just knew that with the assistance of all this equipment, it was only a matter of time until she was able to reach her goal. Kisame chuckled as he leaned against the doorframe. She was like a kid in a candy store. Her eyes were huge, and her smile was for the first time in a long time, one of genuine happiness, no sad undertone, no dreary glaze over her bright eyes, just happiness.

"What do you think then?"

Her head snapped to him, her smile widening as she looked around her slowly.

"It's amazing in here; I love it."

Kisame chuckled once more.

"And I'm sure with you in here everyone else will love coming here to."

His smile fell, his eyes flashing seriously as he entered inside, taking hold of her shoulders and drawing her attention to him. He presented an authoritative demeanour, one which caused Koraru's smile to falter, slipping into a curious frown.

"Which brings me to my next point. They aren't all like Itachi you know. The other members I mean. We're S-ranked criminals, and you need to remember that when you're around us. Keep your guard up. There are some like Sasori and Tobi who you won't have to be too concerned with...but others can be unpredictable."

She smiled to him softly, Kisame's lips twitching, it wasn't the response he wanted.

"I've dealt with men my whole life Kisame-kun, I'll be fine."

Kisame released an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes over briefly. Koraru's smile fell as his expression remained stern, and she nodded her head in acceptance of his advice.

"I'll be cautious."

His smirk returned and he stepped back from her, exhaling heavily.

"Then let's get this over and done with, time for you to meet the Akatsuki.